Where do we draw the line? Graffiti in Maboneng, Johannesburg

Alexandra Parker and Samkelisiwe Khanyile from the Gauteng City-Region Observatory will present this seminar in the Faces of the City series.

This seminar is based on a paper that uses photographs of graffiti to trace Maboneng's development and locate graffiti within the precinct. The research shows the extent to which the Maboneng precinct is branded through urban aesthetics including graffiti. Through visual and spatial analysis, we show the ambiguities of defining both graffiti and place. The research demonstrates that graffiti has aesthetic value in the urban environment. This aesthetic value signifies the redevelopment of a neighbourhood, distinguishing the area at a local level but also signifying a global aesthetic and approach. Using the case study of Maboneng we also show that graffiti is leveraged in nurturing urban development, creative economies and tourism. Graffiti continues to contest the production and ownership of public space even as it becomes increasingly commodified in the urban environment.